Are the Sabres better off without Skinner?

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Just curious what y’all think- I’m convinced it was simply a cost cutting move, and somehow a lot of Sabres fans have bought into the scapegoating of Skinner, but whatever- dude’s gone, replaced by Zucker. From what you’ve seen, is he really that bad defensively as to be of negative value? Sabres are 12 mil below the cap with all core pieces signed, so it’s tough to make the money argument- at worst the move coulda been made later, but again, I’m biased.

Tl;dr- are the Sabres better without Skinner?

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[Three On Zero]

Too early to tell, the buy out was a bit of a head scratcher considering where the Sabres are though

 

[sr edler]

Getting rid of empty calories players like Skinner and Savoie, when you're already loaded with other offensive prospects, seems like a very reasonable move, yes.

It's clear they've chosen a bit of a different approach this year building that 4th line with Malenstyn, Kubel and Lafferty.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Skinner’s an easy scapegoat for poorly constructed teams needing a reboot. It’s happened to him twice now.

The thing is, everyone has always known exactly what he is and he has delivered on exactly that. No he’s not bad enough defensively to make any real difference, certainly not any more than your typical one-way winger. It’s just an easy narrative to sell on a player who has virtually no defensive responsibility in the first place.

You want to know what went wrong in Carolina and then Buffalo, look at the core players who were supposed to be dominating the middle of the ice, your centers, your top pair D, your goalies. Out of 82 games, how many times did Skinner’s team have the advantage in those areas? The story of those positions gets swept under the rug to scapegoat a guy whose job was to score goals and did that effectively.

 

[Bouboumaster]

Skinner is a good player but his contract was too much

 

[Faceboner]

Are the Sabres better without him? Yes, not because he was bad just that we are giving our younger guys more opportunity if we were lacking a top 6 winger we would br much worse off however a guy like zucker is a better 3rd line fit than skins. Next to drai or McD 35-40 goals and 70 points won't surprise.

 

[Hisch13r]

Skinner is a good player but his contract was too much

His buyout is 1.4 then 4.4, 6.4, and 3 years of 2.4. Skinner had 3 years left at 9 mil. They replaced him this year with Zucker and he’s making 5 mil. So that’s essentially 7.4 this year for Zucker as Skinner’s replacement. Only 1.6 mil in savings and it’s not like they’re hurting for cap space. They still have 8 mil left. Skinner’s contract might not have been ideal but it was certainly better than buying it out this summer.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

I voted yes, but it's not a simple answer.

Yes because they want to have a certain identity - and Skinner doesn't fit into that. And it's an uncomfortable situation for everyone to have a 9M dollar player sitting in the press box.

But at the same time, if some wingers go down with injuries you wish you still had him.

 

[Hisch13r]

I voted yes, but it's not a simple answer.

Yes because they want to have a certain identity - and Skinner doesn't fit into that. And it's an uncomfortable situation for everyone to have a 9M dollar player sitting in the press box.

But at the same time, if some wingers go down with injuries you wish you still had him.

If Lindy is going to be coaching anything like he did in NJ then Skinner fits the actual identity of the team to a tee.

 

[Uncle Scrooge]

If Lindy is going to be coaching anything like he did in NJ then Skinner fits the actual identity of the team to a tee.

Well if you look at how the team is built and how they played down the stretch, they want to be hard to play against with a physical edge and on strong on battles, mixed with skill but also comfortable in lower scoring games. A playoff type team.

I don't know what exactly with Lindy you're referring to, but for me Jeff doesn't feel like a great fit, especially when they already have Quinn and Benson who want those minutes.

 

[Matt Ress]

Well if you look at how the team is built and how they played down the stretch, they want to be hard to play against with a physical edge and on strong on battles, mixed with skill but also comfortable in lower scoring games. A playoff type team.

I don't know what exactly with Lindy you're referring to, but for me Jeff doesn't feel like a great fit, especially when they already have Quinn and Benson who want those minutes.

This is a pretty good take. Whether right or wrong the general consensus on the Sabre board is that he’s just not very coachable. The same was said by Canes fans at his departure. Lindy seems to be taking a hard nosed approach and with so much youth in the lineup, it doesn’t help to have a rogue vet.

Also, the notion that they’ll be in trouble if wingers get hurt is the opposite of reality. There’s Kulich, Rosen, Krebs and a few others that could comfortably slot in or, worse case scenario, they use that bundle of cap space. Skinner will do well with successful guys around him but that’s really all he knows. He’s not a driver, not a two way guy, not physical, actually poor on the PP and seemingly not very coachable and therefore not much of a team player. Furthermore he’s not the guy you want tutoring your kids. Addition by subtraction.

 

[Panthaz89]

I was expecting us to make a move for Necas or Konecny when we dropped him but seems like the Sabres have a plan to be cheap again when it comes to using cap space.

 

[Matt Ress]

His buyout is 1.4 then 4.4, 6.4, and 3 years of 2.4. Skinner had 3 years left at 9 mil. They replaced him this year with Zucker and he’s making 5 mil. So that’s essentially 7.4 this year for Zucker as Skinner’s replacement. Only 1.6 mil in savings and it’s not like they’re hurting for cap space. They still have 8 mil left. Skinner’s contract might not have been ideal but it was certainly better than buying it out this summer.

Which is what makes it clear that it wasn't simply a financial decision to move on from him. The better buyout package would have been to wait until the end of this season.

The fact is that Skinner just isn't a great fit on the team and seemingly wouldn't be a very good role model for youngsters as to what Ruff is trying to do

 

[Mobiandi]

He’d been there for far too long as a member of a bottom-tier roster. You have to turnover players that are part of a losing culture for that long.

 

[bleedgreen]

No. He was hardly their problem. The idea he has a negative effect on young players is pretty comical too. Skinner is as hard working a guy off the ice as the come and there’s never been anything but positive things said about him in the locker room and the community. He’s not very good at playing structured system in his own end. If you need to shelter your youngsters from that then you’ve got much bigger problems than Skinner. Thompson had a horrible year last season by the standards he set for himself the year before. Start there with the questions. Then talk to the gm about the lack of depth last years team had. They look a little better on paper this season because of the depth they’ve added, not the talent they subtracted.

 

[Aladyyn]

The answer to the question depends on whether his 2nd half performance last season was merely a blip caused by injury, or permanent fall-off. I like Skinner and hope he does well on the Oilers (and kills it in the playoffs), but I also love our forward group now and I don't think the construction works as well with Skinner. It also means more ice-time for Zach Benson and that is objectively a good thing.

 

[banks]

I was going to viye yes, Buffalo is better off. But after reading the thread, I'm not so sure. Plus I always liked Skinner. Even back when his numbers were terrible under Krueger, he looked fine when I watched the Sabres.

I'll go with no. Maybe it still works out in the long run for player development and whatnot. But they're not a better team when the puck drops in game 1 of 82.

 

[WarriorofTime]

People love to call these guys "empty calories" until they go out to a well constructed team and their offense helps that team win a Cup.. but then that also doesn't count because it wasn't "their" team or something. Le Centre Master Race or something.

 

[tarheelhockey]

People love to call these guys "empty calories" until they go out to a well constructed team and their offense helps that team win a Cup.. but then that also doesn't count because it wasn't "their" team or something. Le Centre Master Race or something.

We can call it the Kessel Effect.

 

[lawrence]

It’s one of those time to move on scenarios. It’s not like skinner is a young guy. He’s 33 and unfortunately they didn’t do to well with him granted it’s a team sport.

 

[Weltschmerz]

It’s one of those time to move on scenarios. It’s not like skinner is a young guy. He’s 33 and unfortunately they didn’t do to well with him granted it’s a team sport.

He had his moments but he is getting slower and always extending his shifts, there is a reason canes didn't want him anymore years ago.

 

[Washed Up 29YearOld]

No, he really is that bad defensively. If one's a Sabres fan, and watched them this year, they would know this.

I don't think I've ever once seen him on the backcheck during his entire time with Buffalo.

 

[Matt Ress]

Some of these posts are weird. To think we have a better idea than the players, coaches and FO people that have spent years with Skinner. There's no need for the cap implications and easier if they waited another year, there was room in the lineup even if on the 3rd line, and he's pretty likeable in the locker room by all accounts.

The decision is clearly based in on-ice play. How would we argue with the folks that are more familiar than any of us on the situation. I'm not saying GMs don't make mistakes but I'd bet it was based on a collaboration of input and not one guy's isolated plan.

Most Sabre fans are still rooting for Skinner and don't have any I'll will do the notion that Sabre fans are clamoring out of bitterness is silly.

 

[GOALOFSSON]

But they're not a better team when the puck drops in game 1 of 82.

Overall we're definitely a better team with or without Skinner

 

[Bounces R Way]

He's an above average and effective player when he's within 15ft of the other team's net. Everywhere else he's at or below replacement level. Do not get the love affair many seem to have with this guy and am thoroughly unsurprised that ridiculous contract Buffalo gave him ended with a buyout.

The Sabres are better off without him. Surely they can find 24G among the plethora of high picks they've made. If Buffalo can't replace 46pts of otherwise worthless ice time cheaper than 9 million a year they are fundamentally broken as a franchise.